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[cfp] Comics Remixed: Adaptation and Graphic Narrative

Posted 07 Dec, 2016

The Graduate Comics Organization at the University of Florida invites applicants to submit proposals to the 14th UF Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels, "Comics Remixed: Adaptation and Graphic Narrative." The conference will be held from Friday, April 7 to Sunday, April 9, 2017. Confirmed keynote speakers include Matt Kish, illustrator of Moby Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page, and Dr. Nina Caputo, author of graphic history Debating Truth: The Barcelona Disputation of 1263.

The ongoing blockbuster expansions of the Marvel and DC comics universes into parallel cinematic and television universes have brought to mainstream attention the adaptation of print comics into other media. Comics scholars are also paying closer attention to the importance of adaptation as an aspect of comics production and reception. Liam Burke's The Comic Book Film Adaptation (2015) has addressed the boom in Hollywood comic book movies during the 21st century. Stephen Tabachnick and Esther Bendit Saltzman's 2015 collection Drawn From the Classics analyzes comic adaptations of literary classics. In 2015, the University of Leicester hosted the symposium "Comics and Adaptation in the European Context," seeking to "bring the fields of comics and adaptation studies into critical dialogue."

When traditionally print-based comics are adapted to other media, or when comics adapt works from other media, how does this change our understanding of what comics can accomplish? Comics adaptations, and adaptations of comics, are not limited to only visual and/or lexical source material; for example, P. Craig Russell has authored a successful series of comics adaptations of operas, and Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home has been adapted into a hit Broadway musical. Comics have a long history of borrowing from other media without, strictly speaking, adapting plot lines or character biographies, as seen in Bob Kane and Bill Finger's adoption of techniques from German Expressionist film in the early Batman stories. In addition, comics culture may be viewed as long having undergone a process of adaptation as a consequence of changes in media ecologies: as the Internet allows fans to connect in different ways, how does this affect the construction of comics fandoms? Moreover, how does the evolution of comics production contribute to a process of adaptation?

The goal of this conference is to invite more extensive and nuanced investigation into these and other problems of comics adaptation. What are the known possible relationships between comics and other media, including but not limited to alphabetic texts, film and television, music, fine art, street art, videogames, and photography? How does the process of adaptation affect our understanding of the genres, themes, or political/aesthetic concerns of works being adapted, and the results of adaptation? The scope of this conference is not limited to trans-media adaptation. Are there instances where comics may influence and borrow from actual life? What is the place of comics adaptations in the multiple media landscapes of the 21st century and beyond?

In addition to traditional, 15-20 minute presentations, "Comics Remixed" will also consider discussion panels from multiple presenters coordinating around a central topic or theme. Proposals should be between 200 and 300 words. Deadline extended to January 1, 2017. All proposals should be submitted to Spencer Chalifour at schalifour@ufl.edu.

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